


For Her I Bend The Knee

by Tired_Leaf



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Medieval, Beta Read, Bickering, Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Romance, Execution, F/F, First Kiss, First Love, Fluff and Angst, Horror, Hurt/Comfort, Knight!Beta Luz, Medieval AU, Minor Character Death, Princess!Beta Amity, Secret Relationship, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Sneaking Around, Sneaking Out, They're 17/18, Violence, knight!Luz, princess!Amity
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-15 22:07:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 16,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29565867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tired_Leaf/pseuds/Tired_Leaf
Summary: There was nothing more fun for Amity than watching the noble men and women of her family’s kingdom crawl to her feet to be given the chance of becoming her knight elect. Sure, it was amusing the first few years, tormenting them with random tasks and dangerous adventures. All with the false pretense that they may earn some form of status from it. But as years have gone by and her level of interest has diminished, so has her mother’s patience. So now at the dreaded age of 18, she’s left with the pathetic few desperate enough to deal with the infamously ill-tempered princess. That is until a certain human girl stumbles into her life... just like she did her room.
Relationships: Amity Blight/Luz Noceda
Comments: 19
Kudos: 104





	1. Intruder

**Author's Note:**

> With the day starting off with its monthly execution, people gather to watch in fear, meanwhile, others take it as an opportunity to sneak into the castle...
> 
> ______________________________________________________
> 
> Based off of my Medieval Beta AU! 
> 
> Feel free to check out my Instagram where I post art of the AU! _tiredleaf_

Golden eyes stared harshly from their seat in the royal courtyard, watching as people slithered from their homes and through the gates where a scaffold had been placed in the center. Children huddled close to their parents as the winter air nipped at them through the thin fabric of their clothes. Meanwhile, nobles found their seats on high ground where they could get a better view. Once they took their seats, their servants rushed behind the noble ladies, draping expensive furs across their shoulders to help fight off the chill. Meanwhile, the men turned to each other, already speaking of upcoming hunting trips and business opportunities. The women were quick to follow as they warmed up, though their topics consisted of their daughters who were planned to be wed and upcoming parties they were planning to host.

Down on the ground, however, the people remained quiet. They watched quietly, scared to breathe, as if they were to be heard the already irritated looking queen would have them seized and dragged up onto the scaffold to be used as an example. A few of the tired citizens’ eyes shifted to the empty chair at the end of the royal family’s line. The queen’s sharp nail tapped against the arm of her chair, her irritation growing by the second. Meanwhile her husband sat straight in his chair, quiet and unimpressed with the event that would soon take place. Their twin children, however, were trying their best to fight off sleep.

The people's attention was quickly brought towards the royal family as they exited the castle, specifically the hyper twins that followed after their parents. The two siblings tried to fill the silence by talking amongst each other about what they had planned for the day or pointing out random people in the crowd to talk about. However, as time ticked away their mother’s irritation began to show. They tried bringing both their parents into their conversation but were promptly ignored. It was clear what they had originally been trying to do as the morning sun began to rise and illuminate the dark sky that threatened snow later in the day; Bide time for the youngest Blight child who remained absent. With their efforts appearing to be fruitless, they had decided to remain quiet as boredom and tiredness overtook them. Odalia’s eyes shifted towards a dark-haired woman who stood beside her. “Go _fetch_ my daughter.” She hissed, refusing to turn her head towards the woman. She refused to give the nobles, let alone the commoners, the idea that there was something wrong.

The woman was dressed in a dark teal dress, a black fur cloak draped around her and hair that rested on her shoulders, framing her sharp features and pale skin. She sighed at the queen’s command, “I assure you she’ll be here shortly. Besides, her knight elect was to retrieve her this morning.” She insisted. The queen seemed uninterested by the tutor’s claim, finding only excuses in her words. Her taping had stopped, instead shifting her hands to rest in her lap. Her irritation was reaching its peak, but she wouldn’t let the people know that. No, she would never allow them that satisfaction. Her attention was soon drawn to her husband, the man releasing a harsh exhale as his patience also appeared to be wearing thin. It wasn’t till a short scream and a rather loud and sickening sound of a body making contact with the ground caused everyone, excluding the royal family, to straighten up. The nobles had stopped chatting, instead, clapping as if a curtain had just been opened for a show to begin.

Meanwhile, the commoners began to silently whisper amongst themselves, a few eyeing and pointing up towards an open window that a man must have fallen out of. Not long after, one of the many doors leading out to the courtyard opened, revealing a tired young woman with unruly brown and green hair. The crowd watched as she trudged towards the small stand that had been set up for her family, trudging up the stairs before taking a seat beside her now awake siblings. Odalia released a shaky breath. She would keep her composure till the end of the trial. She shot her eyes towards a pair of soldiers that stood along the castle’s walls. With a short nod, they took their place under a large bell and began to pull at its rope.

The loud chimes of the bell rang over the wheezing of the man who had most likely broken multiple bones as well as the sharp cries of pain he released as soldiers dragged him away. People’s attention was quick to shift to a tower off to the side, the door slamming open as a row of people in chains were led out. A large creature without eyes led the group, tugging at the chain as a warning to hurry up. They were already behind schedule and the queen wished to be entertained. Oh, how she loved execution day.

The guard stopped at the bottom steps, moving around the group and stopping after the second person. The people watched as he shifted his hand into a large axe, cutting the chain in half. A man who had been positioned at the side of the scaffold’s steps took this as his cue to begin. Making his way up the short stairs and towards the front, he stopped as he gazed over the crowd of people. Drawing a circle in the air, the people watched as a short scroll dropped into the man’s hands. He wore all black for the occasion and adjusted his glasses as he prepared to read. Before he did however, his eyes shifted towards a young boy off to the side. His son gave him a weak smile and a thumbs up. Oh, how they both hated execution day.

“Six people shall be tried today!” He began, voice booming over the silent courtyard. The dark-haired woman’s eyes shifted towards the queen. She had officially relaxed; a faint smile having appeared on her lips as the show had finally begun.

The guard grabbed the chain roughly, forcing the two prisoners in front of him. They stumbled up the stairs and were brought to a stop behind the older man. Two young ogres in what appeared to be their early teens and tattered clothes, helplessly looked out amongst the crowd. The man held his breath as he read through the punishment, releasing a shaky exhale in a sigh of relief as he finished. Finally, he began, “Klaus and Merida Strides! The two of you have been found guilty of theft, proof being given that you stole two loaves of bread from Nardwicks Bakery!” He spoke loudly, his voice bouncing off the walls that protected the castle. His eyes scanned over the crowd, landing on a large ogre who appeared to have a hard time standing as another woman helped keep her up.

His eyes were quick to shift back towards the scroll, “Your punishment would be the removal of your left hands!” He continued, the two teens ready to burst into tears, however the guard kept them up. “However! After an audience with their majesties from the owner of the establishment it has been agreed that the two shall instead spend five days locked into the pillory located at the center of town! Those who are to feed them or offer water shall be punished!” He finished. The crowd seemed to let out a sigh of relief as the two teens began to sob. The woman in the back allowed her tears to flow freely as she watched a soldier force her children back down the stairs.

The crowd refused to turn their attention away, but the man watched as the woman and her friend followed the soldiers. She cupped both her children’s faces before being forcefully pulled away. “Continue Mr. Porter!” The queen instructed, her tone harsh and bored. He knew she just wanted to get to the main event. The Blight siblings tensed at their mother’s commanding words, all becoming uncomfortable for what was soon to come. The man cleared his throat as one witch was pulled up this time. The man was dressed in dirtied noble attire, having been dragged from his home during dinner about a week prior. “Baron Fletcher! You have been found guilty of poaching, having taken a fairy from its home in the forest and illegally using its magic to strengthen your own!” He started once more.

The man sneered, “The small thing was a waste! It did little to provide help let alone magic!” He barked but was silenced as the guard pulled on the chain, knocking the witch off balance and causing him to fall onto his back. He hissed in pain, but the man continued to read. “Due to illegal poaching of a fairy! You shall have your dominant hand severed, your land shall be handed over to the royal family and you will spend a year in the royal prisons!” He announced. 

A few gasps were heard amongst the crowd of commoners, though the laughing of some of the noblemen were louder. Women hid their smiles behind the furs of their cloaks and began to whisper amongst each other. The man shot them all a look before being dragged back down the stairs. Two soldiers were quick to grab him by the arms, the man dragging his feet as he was pulled back towards the tower. “That little creature held hardly any magic that was of use! I did nothing wrong! It served no purpose but as a failure!” He screamed. 

Children held onto their parent’s legs in fright as the man screamed. Meanwhile, the nobles were trying their best to settle down their laughter. As they knew, it’s best to be quiet when a show is being put on especially before the anticipated climax. The herald swallowed, once again adjusting his glasses. His dark eyes once again scanned the scroll, his breath catching in his throat. The prison guard grabbed the end of the chain, dragging the last three onto the scaffold. As the man began to read, he knew that the eyes of the people were not directed onto him. No, they were directed on the nooses that dangled behind him. The youngest princess kept her eyes forward, but the way her brother's leg that anxiously bounced did not escape the corner of her eye.

The guard forced the three commoners under each noose. One was a young witch, looking to be around her early twenties who had been known to help a local healer. The other, a cyclops who had been an employee for one of the farmers of the kingdom. And last, an orc that had stumbled into town only a few months ago. The creatures of the kingdom, both noble and common, watched with held breaths as the guard began to slip the nooses over their necks. “Ayleth Bennett, Merek Bigge and Leofrick you have been found guilty of treason against the crown!” His voice boomed. The commoners shuddered as they watched the guard tighten the nooses around the prisoner’s necks.

Meanwhile, the nobles as well as the queen continued to watch on with a sickening glee. The king remained indifferent, wishing to retire to his throne inside the warm castle. However, the children grew more tense with each word that spilled past the herald’s lips. The youngest jumped in a bit of surprise as she felt a hand reach over to grasp hers. Her gaze for the first time since the beginning of the trial, shifted to gaze at her siblings. Edric, who had grasped her hand, kept his eyes forward. However, Amity noticed that he held Emira’s hand as well. Amity gave his hand a gentle squeeze before forcing her eyes back towards the prisoner’s backs. “For the act of treason against the crown you shall be-!” The man's voice continued to read out the words on the paper, each bringing the three prisoners closer to their demise, but was silenced as a voice spoke up behind him.

“The Emperor is a lying bastard, hang us as you may, but at least we won’t be dying as fools!” The cyclops, Merek, interrupted. Mr. Porter choked on his words, surprised by the interruption. ‘Keep reading.’ He thought to himself. His eyes glanced over as his son, the boy shifting uncomfortably in his spot. ‘Keep reading or you’ll join them.’ He mentally scolded himself. He adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat, preparing to speak once more. “He cares for none of you! A serpent who speaks lies into your ears full of empty promises! You are all part of his game! Pawns! Every one of you! Every word the Blights speak are those whispered by him and fed to you!” The woman cried out, joining in with her friend. The two prisoners glanced at the orc at the end of the row.

Everyone’s eyes shifted towards him, anxiously waiting for the stranger to speak. The Blight children’s grips tightened around each other’s hands as they waited. The guard shot the queen a look, her eyes shifting from his face to the lever he kept his hand on. The orc let out a shaky breath, finally opening his mouth to speak.

Nothing came out except three strangled gasps for air, and a sickening snap of three necks as the floor dropped from under them.

The people watched in silence as the bodies dangled, the show officially over. The herald’s hands were shaking, sweat having formed on his head. He refused to turn around. “This has concluded today’s execution! The bodies shall remain hung and the gates open until midnight tonight! Anyone who attempts to cut down the prisoners, shall face the same fate! You may go about your day and may the Titan watch over you!” He finished. Slowly, the crowd began to disperse. Nobles made their way to their carriages while the commoners slowly walked towards their jobs. Odalia was the first to stand, making her way back inside with her husband in tow. Emira stood next, her hand remaining tightly clasped with her brothers. They stared at their little sister, waiting for her to stand. Instead, she slipped her hand away before standing and disappearing towards the castle, leaving her siblings in the cold.

___

Around lunch time the sky finally burst open, its white tears covering the land and sticking to everything. The weather punished everyone, racking their bodies with a chill that the dead now felt. A punishment for those who had observed that morning’s trial. However, Amity remained warm as she peered out her window from its seat nook at the innocent lives that had been taken. Her door softly opened and closed, footsteps making their way towards her but stopping before they could reach. “Rough morning, I see.” A voice claimed. Amity refused to shift her gaze away from the window. She refused to look towards the girl with short messy black hair and large glasses. The girl held a vase filled with flowers, which she gently placed to the side on a table near the fireplace.

The source of warmth that didn’t allow winter’s guilt to touch the princess. Oh, how she deserved to freeze.

The girl had hoped her friend would take notice of the flowers, that she would perk up at the sight of them. No, the morning’s events had drained her too much. Walking closer to the youngest princess, she glanced out the window with her. She watched as the wind pushed the lives of the innocent around, snow covering them in a thin blanket. With a weak sigh, she leaned over the green haired girl, grabbing the long pink curtains and pulling them closed. “You shouldn’t be exposing yourself to your parent’s crimes any more than you already have.” The girl whispered.

Instead of replying the princess instead leaned over to rest her head against her friend’s stomach. Her uniform of a dirty white tunic and brown pants with an apron around the way didn’t deter the princess. No, she didn’t care if she got dirty as long as her friend held her. With steady hands the girl reached down and began to card her fingers through the princess’s messy long hair. The girl smelt of both dirt and fresh pastries, the princess noted. No doubt she had been helping one of her fathers in the royal gardens before visiting her other father in the kitchens. What a relaxing scent it was. A scent she could identify as trust, a person to share secrets with, to be vulnerable around. The scent of her best friend who held her after every execution day.

“My dad said you didn’t eat this morning. That the servants brought both you and your siblings’ breakfast back down to the kitchen. All were cold and untouched.” The girl stated a mixture of both friendly concern and motherly scolding. Amity refused to speak. She refused to even look at her friend. “Mr. Porter didn’t even finish reading the scroll Willow. They dropped them so quickly.” She whispered, her grip tightening around her friend. Willow made a low shushing noise as she continued to try and detangle her friend’s hair. After a few minutes, though it felt like hours, the servant girl helped the princess up and led her towards a plush pink couch in front of the fireplace.

She sat her down before walking over to add more firewood to the dying embers. Grabbing another log, she added it to the flames before grabbing a poker and shifting it around. Once she was done, she turned around watching her friend gently mess with the petals of the flowers she had brought in. Willow slipped onto the couch with the stubborn royal and allowed her to rest her head on her lap. Once again, her hands found the girl's hair wild brown and green locks. The room remained silent except for the crackling of the fire. “I heard your knight elect was hospitalized earlier this morning before the execution. Would you happen to know anything about that?” Willow asked with concern and maybe a hint of amusement laced in her voice.

The young servant had watched her friend evade knight elect after knight elect since her thirteenth birthday. Usually, they would quit after about a week due to either her unruly behavior or just the lack of respect. However, this was something rather extreme. Something new. Something concerning. “I hate nobles’ sons,” She began, “Especially those with grabby hands.” The princess sneered as she glared back at the fire with an equal amount of intensity. Her friend remained silent, waiting for her to continue. “I didn’t push him. I wasn’t even around that area when it happened. However,” She claimed, turning her attention to stare up at her friend, “I do believe happy accidents happen.” She hummed. 

Willow chuckled lowly, understanding what she had meant. There had been a few nobels sons trying to win the favor of the princess by trying to get close as a knight elect. However, their attempts were in vain as the princess made sure to express her distaste by the end of the week if not sooner. “I’m sure Lilith will have more candidates for me tomorrow before my studies begin as well as an earful of what happened,” Amity sighed, staring into her friends piercing green eyes magnified behind her large glasses, “You believe me though, don’t you?” She asked. Willow stared into her friend's golden eyes, searching for any hint of a lie. 

Amity did have a temper when it came to her knight elects. She’d witnessed the princess throw a brush at one after he had made a rather crude joke once they had returned from town with her dress having accidentally gotten soaked by a passing carriage going through a puddle. To having summoned small abominations to run between other elects’ feet as they trained. The pair giggled as they were thrown off balance and landing on their backs. Willow remained quiet as she tried to remember if the princess had done anything before or after those incidents that could be labeled as extremely violent like this morning. Nothing came to mind. 

“I believe you. I mean, I’m not going to deny you have a temper which makes you a little spit fire. Especially since I know you can handle yourself and having men try and use you to gain a higher status must certainly be annoying. But I doubt you’d shove someone out a window without reason.” She admitted, finally easing her friend's mind. However, they both shared a short laugh, “I can’t believe you’d think I’d shove someone out a window if I had a reason.” The princess laughed happily. Her friend’s laughter died down enough for her to reply with, “If you dislike them enough I’m sure you would! I remember when Boscha made you so mad one day when you two were walking by the lake last spring that you shoved her in and kept walking!” Willow wheezed, another round of laughter starting between the two young women. 

The tense air was slowly dispersing, and Amity’s hidden cheerful demeanor once again began to appear. Willow watched as her friend wiped away the tears that had formed at the corners of her eyes, threatening to ruin the mascara that had been applied earlier that morning. With a friendlier atmosphere having pulled the princesses' attention away from the mornings earlier events, Willow decided to change the topic to more recent gossip. “There’s an interesting rumor going around town,” She commented once the princesses laughter had settled. The royal’s head tilted with interest and let out a low hum, a silent request for her to continue. 

Willow cleared her throat before speaking once more, “Well, the owl lady has once again been spotted trying to sell her odd trinkets in the town's marketplace.” She began, glancing down to see the girl's reaction. Her smile had faded, now staring up at her with her lips stretched thin and a raised brow. “I thought you said you heard an interesting rumor. Hearing about Lady Lilith's weird sister is not interesting Willow.” Amity scowled, clearly disappointed with the news her friend had just shared. Willow cut her eyes, flicking the princesses forehead as a warning to shut up. Amity tried smacking her hand away, but failed. Thus, she rubbed the red spot where her friend had flicked her. “You’re so impatient, that’s not very proper of a lady.” Willow scolded with a mocking tone. 

The princess scowled at her friend's words, but remained quiet. “As I was saying before you _rudely_ interrupted. The owl lady has once again been spotted, but this time she seems to have gained a new employee.” Willow gossiped, watching in amusement as the princesses eyes lit up with a new wonder. However, the spark quickly disappeared as a thought crossed her mind. She opened her mouth to speak, but her friend beat her to it, “And I don’t mean that silly little orange demon she has following her around. I mean a tall, living, breathing creature.” She finished. Amity crossed her hands over her stomach as she processed the information. Willow watched with amusement as the wheels in her friend's head turned. 

“It’s probably an ogre. They’re easily swayed into cheap work.”  
  
  


“It’s not an ogre, they don’t have the proper build.”

“Well how about another witch?”

“During escapes the person never performs magic, only the owl lady.” 

“A nymph perhaps?” 

“There’s no markings of the forest on any of their exposed skin. Usually a nymph's arms and legs are littered with them, but this person's arms remain bare.” 

Amity sucked her teeth in distaste. The room once again fell into a relaxing silence with the only sound being the crackling fire. Amity’s index finger gently tapped the back of her other hand. Her eyes had shifted away from her friend to stare up at the ceiling, trying her best to concentrate. Just what creature was stupid enough to involve itself with the owl lady? Did they know she was a wanted criminal? Probably not. The princess had to give the woman credit, she was good at weaseling in suckers, especially to do her bidding. “Not only does she have a new employee, but it seems that people have noticed them walking around outside the castle walls. It’s almost as if they’re scoping it out.” Willow commented, pulling Amity from her conflicting thoughts.

The princess cut her eyes once more. She was sure if she continued to roll her eyes as much as she did, that they would get stuck inside her skull. Well, not like she’d complain, it would be an opportunity to not have to look at her mother anymore. “As if someone could successfully sneak into the castle walls. Our guards are of the finest caliber and our castle houses some of the strongest witches known across the Isles.” Amity scoffed. Her attitude made Willow chuckled, clearly amused at the girl’s statement. With the gossip now shared, the two fell into a relaxing sense of calm. At least, until her friend gently lifted her head and dropped it onto the couch cushions. 

The green haired girl huffed lowly in surprise as the impact caused a small gasp to escape her. She quickly sat up, watching as her friend dusted off her apron in which she had kept her head on for the past thirty minutes. “You don’t brush your hair, yet you somehow shed like a damn griffin.” She grumbled lowly, easily amusing the princess. Amity watched as the girl checked the fire once again with a raised brow before she walked past her. 

“And where do you think you’re going?” The princess asked, shifting to turn around and peer at her friend from the back of the couch. Willow had stopped with her hand on the door handle, a curious yet amused smirk tugging its way onto her lips. She cocked a brow, “Excuse me your majesty, but some of us have to get back to work.” She stated. She had to bite the inside of her cheek to prevent a larger smile from forming due to the princess giving her a flabbergasted expression. 

Irritated, and not wanting to be left alone, Amity tapped her fingers along the couch as she tried to come up with an excuse for her friend not to leave. She didn’t want to be alone. Not yet. “Come on, just a little while longer! It’s been so long since we’ve done something fun together!” Amity whined, a pout and large pleading eyes replacing the surprise on her face and. Releasing the handle, Willow turned to lean against the door with crossed arms. 

It had been a while since they got to spend time together, she will admit that. Willow being busy with helping her father in the royal gardens, preparing for the blistering winter. One of the worst in years as Mr. Porter had claimed earlier in the month to the groundskeeping staff. Meanwhile Amity was forced to focus on her studies along with dealing with new knight elects appearing one after the other.

Neither girls had time to breathe, let alone exchange a simple hello to each other in private. “What would you suggest we do?” Willow asked inquisitively. Amity perked up at her friend’s question, “My mother’s ladies-in-waiting received some new dresses recently. We can use the secret passages to switch them around to different rooms. Have them believe they’re stealing each other's clothes. It’ll be quite entertaining to watch them bicker.” The princess suggested, excitedly shifting in her seat. If she knew anything about her mother’s ladies-in-waiting is that they were certainly a jealous bunch. 

However, the plant witch didn’t seem to find this suggestion as interesting as the princess. She stared off boredly, “Hmmm, didn’t we do that when we were like, fourteen?” She asked. The response caused the princess to scowl, her cheeks burning red in embarrassment. Huffing she began to tap her fingers along the edge of the couches back, trying to come up with more ideas. However, her mind turned up empty of shenanigans that could entertain them. 

Willow sighed at the princesses' boring and distasteful idea, causing the girl to frown. She once again straightened her posture before grabbing the door handle. “How about this, I’ll return later tonight after lights out. I’ll bring a deck of cards and a few pastries and we can spend time then.” She offered, turning the doors handle in the process. The room fell into a deafening silence. The princess mulled the suggestion over in her mind, “Do you promise?” Amity asked innocently. With a sigh, Willow opened the door, “I promise,” She whispered before slipping out and leaving the princess alone once more. 

___

Brown eyes peered up at the tall and sturdy castle walls, ignoring the passing commoners and nobles that walked by. The morning sun crept into the sky, threatening to warm the frigid town. However, the gray clouds refused to let it shine. Hiding it away to bring another onslaught of chills with a follow up of snow that would torment anyone who was to be out and about later in the day. Her eyes shifted towards her teacher, the woman currently busy swindling a poor fool out of their money. The woman held a lava lamp, which clearly couldn’t be used due to the current world's lack of electricity. However, that didn’t stop the woman from trying to make a profit. 

“Inside this contraption my good man is pure lava! No doubt it’ll keep you warm during these cold times and it doesn’t even melt through the glass!” Eda claimed, tapping on the outside of the lava lamp as an example of its sturdiness. The man’s gaze was inquisitive as he observed the item held by the woman. The look the man gave caused Eda’s smile to widen just a bit, exposing her golden fang even more. “So how does it work? It doesn’t look hot right now.” The man asked, curiously reaching out to touch the object. Quickly, Eda pulled the lamp out of the man's reach. Well she didn’t plan this far ahead, especially when Luz had given her so little information about the contraption. Eda cleared her throat, hoping to gain her new apprentices attention. Glancing off to the side, she caught her staring up at the castle walls.

She cleared her throat once more, however the noise once again fell upon deaf ears. The man’s curious expression began to falter. He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes, “You don’t know how it works, do you?” He asked. Eda sucked her teeth in distaste. “Uh, yes I do, it’s just that MY APPRENTICE is more knowledgeable on the subject and I would like for my customer to know how to handle such an item properly. The do’s and don’ts you could say.” Eda insisted with fake nonchalance, glaring down at the man. He shuddered under her gaze, gently pulling at his collar as he slowly became red with embarrassment. Literally, his whole body was becoming a dark shade of pink. Must be an emotion type creature.

  
  


With her eyes still narrowed and on the man, she gently kicked at a small orange demon that had been napping beside her on a tattered blanket. Grumbling, the creature sat up and glared up at the woman. “What?” He growled in a tired voice, afterwards smacking his lips in distaste at his morning breath. Eda shot him a crooked smile, trying her best to portray a fake innocence. “King, would you be a dear and grab our distracted human? I need her for a minute. And when I say a minute, I mean right now, not after another nap.” She hissed as her long nails tapped against the glass of the lamp and her pointed ears twitched in irritation. With a dramatic sigh the small demon stood, brushing himself off of any stray bugs that had crawled on him during his nap. 

He made his way over to the girl and stopped at her feet. He gazed up, taking note of her change in posture. She had both hands on her hips now and her eyes scanned the castle wall as if she were looking for something. Well, whatever she was looking for wasn’t King’s problem and he really didn’t care to be yelled at so early in the morning. Thus, he cupped his clawed hands around his mouth before yelling up at the girl, “Luz! Eda needs you!” He called out. Nothing. With a roll of his eyes King grabbed the side of Luz’s baggy pants and began to tug. “Luzzzzz! Eda’s getting impatient!” He groaned, dramatically throwing his skull covered head back as if he were a child demanding for his mothers attention. 

Instead, the teen gently kicked him away with a “Not now King.” Slipping past her lips. He glanced off to his side, catching Eda’s impatient eyes glaring at them. Well, desperate times called for desperate measures. 

Also known as, climb the human. 

King once again grabbed onto Luz’s pants and began to climb. He was amazed that the girl hadn’t tried to swat him off, but guessed she was used to him trying to climb her at random moments. Once he latched himself onto the edge of her navy tunic, he used the belt around her waist to lift himself higher. The girl seemed to shift a bit as he climbed, but not enough to the point she seemed to care. It wasn’t till he reached her shoulders that he could finally put his plan into action. Rubbing his hands together, he reached out and grabbed one of the long strands of her hair that framed her face. He grasped one long strand in one hand before reaching under her chin to grab the other. 

With a deep breath and a sudden rush of adrenaline, he jumped. “Ringa ding ding the King is here!” He cried out as he pulled the girl’s hair. Her eyes widened and she yelped in pain as her head was forced forward and towards the ground. She nearly fell flat on her face, barely catching herself in time. However, she winced as her hands slammed into the ground, a surge of pain shooting up her wrists and arms. She winced, her arms quickly giving out allowing her face to make contact with the dirty ground. King had released her hair half way through the fall, and scampered away before she could crush him. 

He stared at the groaning girl on the ground boredly. “Eda wants you.” Was all he said before walking away to lay back down on his blanket. “Don’t kill the adorable demon Luz. Don’t do it.” Luz repeated to herself in her head. With shaky arms, Luz pushed herself off the ground and back onto her feet. Before turning around, she dusted herself off and checked her face. There was a small scrape on her cheek but at least her nose wasn’t bleeding like last time. 

Turning around, she met the tired and narrowed eyes of her teacher. “Good, you’re here! Luz, be a dear and tell this man about this warming contraption!” She demanded, her voice loud as if she were putting on a show. Luz felt her eye twitch. However, she made her way over, taking the lamp out of Eda’s hands. The creature eyed her curiously, staring up from head to toe. He cocked his head to the side in curiosity, watching as the cold wind blew at the human girl's hair, exposing her ears. She shuddered. Damn she wished she could wear her beanie.

Her grip tightened around the glass as a forced smile appeared on her irritated face. “This good sir, is a lava lamp. Once it has been bought and placed in a dark room, all you have to do is rub it and it’ll begin to warm up!” Luz lied, rubbing the lamp as an example. The man seemed to hang onto every word Luz spoke. Eda smirked in amusement at this. “That does sound quite nice! And, how about this long black piece right there?” He asked, pointing towards the cord that protruded from the back and dangled near the ground. Luz blinked, her mind quickly finding an answer. “It’s the lamp's tail. I wouldn’t touch it though,” She shifted her eyes, “Or get it near water.” She mumbled under her breath. 

The man placed a finger under his chin as he took a moment to think it over. “Hmmm, how much?” He asked with narrowed eyes. Quickly, Eda grabbed Luz by the shoulders and shifted her out of the way just a bit. “Thirty snails!” She quickly responded. Her golden eyes glowed at the very thought of money. The man however, continued to think the price over. With a low hum he smirked, “How about this?” He asked, the words quickly making Eda’s smile falter. “I’ll give you 15 for the magic lamp. How does that sound?” He suggested, trying to haggle the price. The witch and the human shared a look of distaste due to the man’s cheapness before shifting their eyes back towards him. Neither of them were smiling now. 

“How about we keep it at thirty and my apprentice doesn’t beat you with the lamp?” Eda suggested, smiling once more. The man scoffed in disbelief before shifting his eyes towards the human girl who at the moment was tapping the lamp against the palm of her hand menacingly. She would usually do the same threatening gesture with her bat whenever she was getting ready to fight someone. Oh, how she missed her bat. Sadly, Eda wouldn’t let her bring it either. It was currently resting on her mess of blankets, protecting her beanie back at the owl house. Oh, how she missed her two prized possessions. 

The man shifted uncomfortably. “Listen, I’m sure we can negotiate-” The man had started, but was cut off as Eda scoffed. “Listen bud, either you beat it and go bother someone else, or my apprentice beats _you_.” She growled, clearly becoming annoyed with the man. Both the human and witch watched as the man gulped before nervously reaching into his cloak pocket and pulling out a heavy bag of coins. Quickly, he began to count out thirty snails before handing them over to Eda. Her sour demeanor quickly disappeared, her joyful smile returning once again. “Thank you for your purchase! Enjoy the trials!” Eda announced before turning away to count the snails, meanwhile Luz shoved the lamp into the man’s hands and watched him scamper away through the castle walls. 

  
  


“So, find anything interesting? You’ve been staring pretty hard at that wall all morning.” Eda asked as she slipped the snails into a pouch attached to the belt around her waist. Luz sighed, glancing at her mentor. “I just think it’s a little odd that the guards aren’t walking around the wall like they usually do. They’re all near the front of the gate.” Luz grumbled. Both she and her guardian glanced up at the barren wall’s sides. By this time the graveyard guards would be switching with the morning. The castle's mages would even tag along to keep a lookout as the guards settled into their posts, but not even they were out and about. 

  
  
  


Eda sucked her teeth in distaste. Luz turned to curiously glance at her, catching her rolling her eyes. “They’re all busy guarding her royal pain in my ass and her royal brats.” The older woman sneered. Her apprentice raised a curious brow at her tone, “So, like, what’s going on exactly?” She asked, watching as her mentor began to shuffle away farther away from the gate yet still close to the wall. Eda refused to answer her, waiting until she found what she was looking for. Her golden eyes scanned the old gray stone before stopping at a random spot. 

  
  


The teenager nearly ran into her, already wincing at the thought of her nose once again coming into contact with another hard surface. She would definitely need to put a cold compress on it when she got back to the owl house. Reaching into her pocket, Eda pulled out a small piece of white chalk. With shining chestnut eyes full of curiosity, Luz watched as her mentor began to draw what appeared to be a door. “Once a month, this kingdom’s psycho queen or her Majesty Blight, as others would call her, holds a trial. Basically, all the prisoners that have been arrested during the month their sentences are officially declared.”

  
  


“Usually, she does the boring ones first; petty theft or stupid misunderstandings. Those usually end in public humiliation.” Eda stated. She pulled away once she finished the door. Quickly, she went to the center, drawing a keyhole and placing the chalk in the center before turning it. The two women watched as a faint golden light appeared around the edges, before the enchanted door opened just a crack. “And what does she save for last?” Luz asked as she watched her mentor check left and right before opening the door. “Oh, executions are her favorite so she always saves those for last. Like I said, the woman’s a psycho.” Eda chuckled. Luz shuddered at the idea of witnessing an actual execution. 

  
  


Sure, she had been in plenty of fights and broken a few bones that weren’t her own, especially back home. However, taking someone’s life was the last thing she’d aim to do. “So,” Eda’s voice snapped Luz’s attention back onto her, “Since the nut job and her family are going to be busy with the trials for the next hour or so, I think it’s reasonable that we enact ‘Plan Night Owl’.” Eda announced as she stepped out of the way of the door, a proud smirk upon her features. Curiously, Luz peered in. Her eyes stared down the dark hallway that appeared to have no end. She shuddered once more. If Eda and her got caught there was no doubt that both of them would become part of the queen’s entertainment. 

  
  
  


“Isn’t ‘Plan Night Owl’ supposed to happen, you know, at night?” Luz asked, turning to stare at her teacher once again. The older woman rolled her eyes at her apprentice's question. “Well, yeah, but I feel this would be a good opportunity as well.” She insisted with a huff. Luz tried her best not to cut her eyes away at her teacher’s response. “Whatever you say. So, where does this door lead exactly?” Luz changed the subject, which quickly earned her a devious smile from the older witch. Before speaking, Eda glanced back towards the castle gates. The coast was clear, which was odd. Usually once everyone was inside the trials would begin. What was the possible holdup? 

  
  
  


The woman shook her head of the thought, her white mane flying around and nearly smacking the younger witch in training. “This, my dear human, is a secret door spell. It’s quite simple, you draw the door and before opening it get a clear image in your mind of where you want to go. Where I’m sending you is to the stairwell of the east tower. Just follow it to the top and you should find a door with this symbol on it.” Eda explained. Curiously, Luz watched as the woman squatted down, using the same piece of chalk to draw what looked like the abomination symbol, but instead of it’s goopy face had an oracle eye in the center. 

Luz opened her mouth to ask a question, but was quickly cut off as Eda continued explaining the plan. “The relic should be behind the door and the guards should all be at the trials so you won’t have to worry about being caught.” She explained before quickly standing. Eda scuffed the ground with the sole of her heel to wipe away any chalk. “Now, if anything happens, quickly make your way back to the door! It should lead you right back here where I’ll be waiting. Or King and I will make an escape if you’re taking too long, then you’re on your own.” Eda snorted in amusement as Luz shot her an annoyed look. 

  
  
  


“However, you must also remember, do NOT let the secret door close behind you while you’re in the castle. Once it’s closed it can’t be reopened unless you create another secret door.” Her mentor continued on with her explanation. Luz dreaded the idea of actually being trapped inside the castle. “Okay, got it, but quick question. I understand that most of the guards and mages are going to be at the trials, but is it really a good idea to leave a chamber that contains one of the most powerful relics in the isle that was entrusted to them by the Emperor himself to be left unguarded?” Luz asked in one breath, gasping for air as she finished.

  
  
  


The older woman raised a curious brow as she stared the young human girl down. Well, more like just stare at her since the girl was just about the same height as her. “Kid, this family literally holds trials that ALWAYS ends with execution as a way to keep citizens in line. Do you really think they’re concerned about someone stupid enough to break in and steal a relic in the middle of it?” Eda asked, placing a hand on her hip and cocking her head to the side. Luz rolled eyes which clearly held irritation before crossing her arms. “Well you’re making me sneak in in the middle of it.” She grumbled under her breath. She hissed in pain as she felt her mentor smack the back of her head, “No sass! Besides, you’re the only one that can sneak in in the middle of it. The mages, not to mention the royal pain in my butt, can sense magic all around the castle and you my dear,” She placed a bony hand on Luz’s shoulder, “Are a powerless human that can sneak in undetected!” She announced proudly.

  
  


  
  


Luz winced at her mentor's words. Sure, she didn’t have a bile sack like just about everyone on the isles, but she could still make a light glyph! She cringed at the thought. That’s right, she could make a light glyph. Only, a light glyph. 

  
  


Eda’s eyes softened as her students shifted away to look at the ground, dragging her foot around distractedly. She bit her bottom lip as she mentally planned out her next choice of words. “Hey, don’t give me that look. You may not have a bile sack that helps you produce magic naturally but think about it like this! You can create magic in a way that nobody else could possibly imagine! The human way! And I’m sure in time you’ll possibly learn more spells!” Eda tried to cheer up her apprentice, even dramatically shaking the girl to try and snap her out of her souring mood. Luz, however, only gave her mentor a weak smile. “I’ll try and be quick.” Was all the teenager said before slipping through the door and out of Eda’s line of sight. 

  
  
  
  
A cold breeze blew past the older woman, causing her to shiver and pull the edges of her cloak tighter around her body. The soft sound of feet caused her to quickly shift her attention back towards the front of the wall’s entrance. King stopped, staring up at Eda unamused. “Way to go teach. You truly know how to make a student feel special.” He sneered. The demon latched onto Eda’s cloak before climbing up and stopping to rest on top of her head. The woman stared down the dark path. “She’ll be okay. You know she’ll get over it. She always does.” Eda sighed, watching in silence as she stared into the dark abyss that had enveloped her student.


	2. Hostage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luz officially breaks into the castle to steal the relic, however, things don't go as planned, especially when she meets the princess...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based off of my Medieval Beta AU!
> 
> Feel free to check out my Instagram where I post art of the AU! _tiredleaf_
> 
> I'm so happy people enjoyed the first chapter and please feel free to leave a kudos and a comment telling me what you think! I really enjoy hearing your feedback! ^^

The hallway was quiet. Too quiet for Luz’s liking. Her mind quickly shifted to all the movies that involved sneaking around in hidden tunnels under various buildings. There was no dramatic squeaking of rats nor the accidental feeling of kicking lost remains. Oddly, the walls that Luz kept her left hand on felt clean. No moss, no mold, just clean unbothered stone. So, why did it disturb her so much? Her internal questioning was brought to a halt as she ran straight into a dead-end. She groaned, her right hand reaching towards her face to sooth her aching nose. Once the pain subsided, the human girl placed both of her hands in front of her, feeling around for any sort of handle. Nothing.

Curiously, the young girl used her nerd arms and body to push at her blockade. The slight audible sound of stone scraping against the floor caught Luz’s attention. Her eyes shifted down, noticing a faint stream of light. The faint light bounced off her dark chestnut eyes, alighting them with a new found vigor. Once again she began to push forward, the door opening just a bit more before coming to a halt. She blinked. Was something blocking her way? Before making a move, Luz remained still and quiet, listening for anything coming her way. Silence, just as Eda had expected. Quickly, she made her way to the small gap that had presented itself and roughly slipped her arm through. She felt around for a few seconds before stopping as her hand came into contact with something hard.

This had to be a joke. Who the hell would even put something like this in a stairwell!? With irritation, Luz tried her best to push the small table away from the door. The small table shuddered as the girl smacked at it, including the decorative vase that rested on top. Though it was small and lightweight, the legs continued to snag on loose stones, preventing it from moving any farther. Luz growled in irritation. All she had to do was knock it down! With another smack of her arm, the vase finally tipped over. The sound of crystal shattering caused the young girl to flinch. However, the concern was quickly extinguished as she went back to knocking the small table over.

The noise of the table rocking drowned out the noise of oncoming footsteps that made their way down the staircase. A knight elect clearly late for the upcoming trial that was to be held that morning. He was quick, trying to slip his helmet on his head as he tried reminding himself to stop by the princess bedroom to wake her. Oh the trouble he was going to be in. Maybe he could come up with a good excuse as to why he was late? A terrible night's rest perhaps? Maybe he could tell them that the oncoming cold weather made him sick? No, they’d most likely get rid of him if he admitted that his body could so easily succumb to sickness.

He groaned lowly, what could he possibly use as an excuse to avoid the queen's wrath?! His thoughts were quickly halted at the sound of stone scraping against stone, and a powerful shove against his side. He quickly moved to try and step out of the way of whatever had just roughly pushed him, grasping at the wall behind him, but was met with nothing but air. His breath got caught in his throat as he fell back out of the open glassless window, his eyes quickly meeting with the gray sky that threatened snow. It wasn’t till his body nearly came into contact with the ground that his brain registered that he had been falling, thus a short scream finally escaped him. A sharp pain wracked his body as he met with the ground. His breath once again caught itself in his throat, his body refusing to move. Titan, could he even move?

No, it was too painful. It hurt to think. It hurt to breathe. The sound of clapping finally reached his ears, and he tried to turn his head. He couldn’t, because that hurt too. The loud sound of other knights rushing to help the poor man caught his attention, as well as causing an extreme headache to make itself known. “We need to get him to a mage quickly!” One of the men claimed, picking up the man’s legs. He screamed out in pain, but his voice was silenced as the ringing of the bells bounced off the castle walls. Another guard quickly grabbed his arms, lifting him as he cried out in pain once more. “Be careful with me you bastards!” He tried to scream, but no words came out.

He was dragged away, only able to catch a glimpse of a dark haired woman who stood by the queen and glared at him before her eyes shifted towards the window he had fallen from.

Luz remained quiet for a moment, slowly peering out from the wall’s secret door. The small table had been knocked out of the way, but she could have sworn she had knocked it over when she shoved the door open. She at least expected it to have fallen down the stairs from the force. But no, it rested peacefully just a few inches away from its original location. She thought she had heard something tumbling over, even the soft sound of screaming. However, everything seemed in order, excluding the shattered crystal on the ground. She’d deal with that later.

  
Instead, Luz made quick work to slip from her hiding spot and make her way up the winding staircase. The voice of the herald caught Luz’s attention, but it didn’t stop her from continuing forward. She listened however, as he called out the prisoners names and punishments, even giving a low sigh of relief as he announced the young teens punishment. At least some people in this hellish town were willing to show a bit of mercy. By the time she reached the top of the stairs, the second prisoner’s punishment was being announced. However, she tuned out the clearly nervous man’s voice as a large door caught her eyes.

Nobody was around once again, just as Eda had suspected. For some reason the proof that her teacher was right again sent a surge of annoyance through the teenager. However, she shook it off as she took in the door. It surprisingly looked simple. A large wooden door with the Blights family crest on it in silver. Luz tried to suppress a shudder as she stared at the eye in the center of the abomination goop. It was almost as if it were watching her. She was snapped out of her daze as the voice of the herald echoed throughout the tower, though it was quite low due to how high up the human girl was. However, it was almost as if the man were shouting in her ear. The announcing of the final three prisoners reminding her that her time was running out.

Quickly, her hectic eyes made contact with the surprisingly bland door. Reaching down she expected to grab a handle, but was surprised to find nothing but air. She glanced down. There was no handle. Not even a keyhole to prove that the door could be opened. Curiously, because her brain wouldn’t let her live it down if she didn’t at least try it, she reached out and gently pushed with her hand. Nothing. Yeah, she knew that wouldn’t work. She growled in irritation, “You my dear, are a powerless human!” Eda’s words echoed throughout Luz's head. She glared at the door. Once again, she tried shoving at the door. Nothing. She took a few steps back before rushing to hit at the door with her shoulder. Nothing.

“This has concluded today’s execution! The bodies shall remain hung and the gates open until midnight tonight! Anyone who attempts to cut down the prisoners, shall face the same fate! You may go about your day and may the Titan watch over you!” The voice once again caught Luz’s attention. She was out of time. Clearly still annoyed, Luz dashed away from the door, rushing down the staircase. She peered out of one of the few windows that wrapped around the tower along with it’s staircase, taking note that the royal family was gone and must have already entered the castle.

“Dammit!” Luz growled lowly, picking up her pace. Once she got back to the secret door, she made quick work to kick away the shattered crystals, before moving the small table close to the hidden entrance. With irritation, and much maneuvering, Luz was able to slide the table back into place before closing the entrance. Her arm ached and there was no doubt it would remain that way for a while. Quickly, she scampered down the dark hallway, a sigh of relief escaping her as she was met with the light at the end of the tunnel and the cold winters breeze.

It chilled the sweat that she never realized had formed on her brow as she rushed out. She also gasped for a breath of air she didn't know she had been holding once she made it safely to the hidden alleway. She quickly turned her head towards the gate. Nobody was coming after her. The bells remained silent. All she could see was the concerned eyes of her teacher. The woman quickly rushed over, going to pat her student on the back. “Did you get it?” She asked, the choice of words only seemed to irk Luz even further. No, ‘Are you okay?’ ‘Did you need any help?’. Nothing. Luz pushed her mentor's hand away, causing the older woman's eyes to widen. “The door is locked, sealed by magic. I couldn’t get in.” Luz huffed, glaring at the older woman.

The girl crossed her arms, wincing slightly, and staring at anything that wasn’t her mentor. Eda opened and closed her mouth, debating on what to say. She jumped slightly as she felt something nudge at her ankle. Glancing down, King was glaring up at her. He made a motion towards the upset human as if telling the older woman to just talk to her. Eda gave a weak laugh, hoping it’d lighten the mood with her usual odd humor, “Come on kid, don’t look so down! We’ll try again another time!” She tried to lighten the mood.

Why try again if the outcome would be the same? Luz had no magic so how could she open the door? Her eyes finally shifted back to the older woman, who currently gave her a large smile. “Whatever.” She grumbled, once again shifting to stare at the castle wall as if it were more interesting. Eda’s smile dropped and her eyes narrowed in irritation. “Teenagers.” She grumbled, turning away to make her way down and back towards her stand. King remained, staring at the girl. “Don’t worry about it Luz! Sure you failed and will continue to fail since you lack magic, but I’m sure you’ll figure something out!” He tried to cheer up his friend, but it simply earned him a tired frown.

He laughed awkwardly, shifting from foot to foot as the girl stared him down. “I uh, think Eda is calling me.” He lied as he slowly backed away. Quickly, he turned away and rushed back down the alleyway. Luz huffed. She knew she shouldn’t feel this upset, that they were only being truthful. However, the reminder that she wasn’t like everyone on the isles, that she had to look for a different way to learn magic, reminded her of the gap between her and everyone else. Her eyes shifted back to the opened door before shifting back down the alleyway. Hesitantly, she undid the belt around her waist and bunched it up, closing the door slightly and placing the belt between it so it wasn’t fully closed.

Without a second thought, she turned away and started back towards the alleyway’s entrance, dreading the tension that had already started to build between her and her mentor.

___

Bonesborough was covered by a thick sheet of white snow by the time the sun had set. Children who had been building creepy looking snowmen were ushered inside by their parents, while store owners closed up for the night. Most homes had candles alight in the windows as parents rested by the fireplace. Meanwhile, the upstairs remained dark as the children slept, hardly protected by their thin, raggedy blankets. Luz shuddered as she tightened her thin cloak around her. Meanwhile, her grasp on the staff in her hand tightened as well.

Owlbert rested at the end in his wooden form, happily ignorant to the trouble that the teenager was leading him into. Guards had once again begun their patrol, walking along the top of the castle gates walls, eyes peering across the landscape. Luz tried her best to remain unnoticed. Hiding in the shadows of closed shops to even dramatically diving behind crates. Once the guards had officially passed by, she quickly moved to the alleyway that Eda had set up her shop earlier that day.

She cringed at the memory. All morning there had been a suffocating tension between them, yet neither of them opted to speak to each other. Eda busied herself by swaying customers into buying her odd products. Meanwhile, Luz dug through the pile of garbage that Owlbert had recently collected, grabbing things that could be sold and tossing them to the side. Even after they had packed up for the day, King had tried to tell a few jokes to ease the tension. However, they fell on deaf ears as both the women went their own separate ways once they arrived back home.

Luz had spent the passing hours in her small room, reading one of her Azura books before turning in for the night. Her stomach growled since she had skipped dinner, but she wasn’t ready to face Eda yet. No, instead her restless eyes stared up at the ceiling as her brain reminded her that she was a powerless witch. Hell, could she even call herself a witch? The thought caused a small pain in her chest. The door had been a physical representation of all her misgivings from these past few weeks. Although she was training hard to be one, she was still just a measly human born without magic. That she would need at least some magic capability to even possibly open the door. She huffed. She may not have any powers, but if she had a staff that could help her, then there could be a chance.

She blinked back her tiredness as an idea struck her. A staff. She needed a magic staff! Eda had a magic staff! Luz quickly shot up, her mind shifting to Owlbert. If she could get him she could use him to open the door. Then she could grab the relic and give it to Eda. She huffed in a new found determination. She’d show Eda that she wasn’t just a powerless human.

Thus, as the night grew longer and Luz was sure Eda had gone to bed, she made her move. Having crept into Eda’s room to grab the resting staff before quietly sneaking past a sleeping Hooty. She shivered as another harsh cold breeze blew past her, her long bangs smacking her in the face in the process. With a huff, she pushed her hair out of her face to the best of her ability. She stopped, her eyes alighting with hope as she noticed the door was still cracked open on the side of the wall. Her belt had been covered by the snow, but was easy to find as she pushed the door open.

  
Quickly, she slipped through, sighing in relief as she escaped the freezing cold. The sudden warmth however, had also seemed to awaken Owlbert. The small owl shuddered, snow flying off his head and wings. He blinked, clearly surprised by the sudden appearance of snow. Last time he checked, Eda had rested him against her bed. This, however, was certainly not Eda’s room. His golden eyes anxiously bounced around in search of his owner, before landing on the human girl who was pulling the door back into its cracked position. He gave a low “Hoot.” Which quickly drew the humans attention towards him.

Luz shuddered in surprise at how harshly the little owl was glaring at her, but shook it off. “Hey there buddy. I know you’re probably confused, but you and I are going on a little adventure for Eda, okay?” She asked, gently reaching down to cup the little owl. She placed him on her shoulder before grabbing his staff. With a bit more confidence than she had earlier, Luz made her way down the hall, stopping as her waiting hand this time, made contact with the deadend before her face did. The owl cocked his head to the side, curious as to what the human was up to. It wasn’t till the human girl began the routine of checking for noise and slowly pushing the wall open that the owl began to connect the dots. Luz once again moved the table away, exposing more of the tower's stairwell. She stopped however, shooting a hand to her mouth as she nearly yelped out in pain as the small owl took a few strands of her hair between his beak and roughly tried to pull her away.

“Owlbert!” She growled lowly, trying to reach for the tiny owl who easily dodged her advancing hands. He tried his best to pull the girl back down the hall, but stopped as she finally managed to grab him. The owl allowed the girl’s hair to slip from his beak, however his piercing yellow eyes met with piercing brown ones as they both glared at each other. “I need you to cooperate with me! It won’t even take long!” Luz insisted, once again heading back towards the stairwell door. The small owl began to struggle in her grasp, but stopped as Luz placed him back on the staff.

The small owl continued to stare the girl down as she once again peered out the passage door. The coast was clear for the moment. “Listen, since you don’t want to come, I’ll go and make sure that nobody is guarding the door and then come back for you. Until then, please be quiet.” She hissed, slipping out of the door and closing it back just a bit. Owlbert began to cry out, flying off the staff and knocking his small body against the stone wall as if he could move it. One of his golden eyes peered through the crack that the door provided. Nothing. The human girl was gone. With a nervous hoot, the small owl flew back onto the staff, and nervously waited for the human girl to return.

Luz moved quickly to the top of the stairs, stopping once in a while to listen for any footsteps. The stairwell remained blissfully calm and silent, which somehow creeped the human girl out even more. By the time she made it to the top, she was too far to hear the soft echoes of another set of footsteps making their way up the winding staircase.

Lilith was quiet as she made her way up the staircase, stopping at every window to peer down. Not that one. Not this one. No, no this one either. She stopped at each one, staring at the snow covered ground below. It wasn’t till she was half way up the stairs and the soft crunch of broken crystal under her boot caught her attention. “So it’s this one.” She whispered lowly, making her way towards the window and peering down. She was sure if the snow had not fallen, she would clearly see the shape of a man that had fallen from the window. However, the snow hid any evidence of the incident happening. Lilith narrowed her icey eyes as she turned back around. They quickly fell upon the moved table, causing the woman to raise a curious brow. “You can’t be serious.” She thought to herself. Had the man really nearly fallen to his death by tripping over a table?

She glanced at the broken vase. Well, she’d probably try and end it all if she had knocked over a vase worth more than the castles staff. She sucked her teeth, making a mental reminder to have a maid come up and clear away the mess. Her eyes once again shifted from the shattered vase to the small table it was originally perched on. With a low sigh, the woman grabbed the table and moved it back into place, pressing it against the wall. A small click made her pointed ears twitch. She glared at the wall in front of her, even reaching out to feel it. No hidden lining to show that there was a door, and no loose stones to show a hidden passage. How odd.

Once again, the woman turned on her heel and started her way up the staircase.

Growling lowly, Luz pushed at the relic door, as if her twentieth attempt would be her successful one. No, she needed Owlbert. The thought caused her heart to ache. The little owl was upset with her, so she’d need to do something afterwards to make it up to him. With a huff, the human girl turned around, ready to make her way back down the staircase. However, she stopped. Her eyes widened as she heard the soft sound of footsteps making their way up the stairs. She needed to hide. Without thinking, Luz turned around, eyes wildly searching for any place to hide. The door was a big no (basically mocking her), thus her eyes shifted to a piece of tapestry that rested across from it.

As cliche as it was, she had no other choice. With quick steps, she slipped behind the tapestry, and pressed her back against the wall as if she were trying to blend in. However, a soft clicking noise caught her by surprise, but only for a moment. No, falling backwards and landing on her back was even more surprising. Her head ached as it made contact with the hard ground. She was sure she had a concussion by this point. With a groan, she sat up, noticing the stones from behind the tapestry that had opened were once again shifting back into place.

She released a shaky breath. She was trapped. Luz bolted up, ignoring the ache that shot through her head as she began to smack at the wall. First she had tried pushing, hoping it would open like the door in the staircase. Next, she tried feeling around for any loose stone that could trigger the wall open again. Nothing. Nervously, Luz reached into her pocket and pulled out a light glyph. With shaky hands, she tapped it, allowing the paper to ball up and burn into a soft glow between her hands. The darkness stretched into another hallway, one which provided more anxiety than the first that Luz had to use to sneak through. Probably because she didn’t know the outcome with this one.

When she got home, she definitely owed Eda an apology.

___

Steam filled the room and the soft sound of water nearly lulled the princess to sleep as she rested against the edge of her bathtub. Her golden eyes remained closed and her wild hair currently stuck to her forehead. She needed to get out. Willow would be arriving soon and she didn’t care to be lectured for nearly falling asleep in the bath. Oh, but the warmth was so inviting. She sunk down just a bit further into the water. The different scents of the flowers that floated around her in the water beckoning her farther into the sweet temptation of sleep.

It wasn’t till the soft sound of a door opening brought her attention back. She whimpered lowly at the thought of having to leave the water. However, a lecture from Willow was the last thing she wanted, especially so late into the night. Thus, she made quick work to slip out of her bath and into a long night gown. She began to dry her wild hair as she exited the bathroom, calling out to her friend. “Before you say anything I was just getting out as you were walking in. And no, I didn’t fall asleep!” Amity instinctively began to defend herself.

The silence shocked the princess. She could have sworn she heard someone come in. Usually, Willow would make some witty remark or smart ass comment that would give Amity an excuse to throw her towel at her. No, that wasn’t it. Amity emerged from the hallway leading to her bathroom before stopping. Her golden eyes widened as they made contact with a figure who was currently trying to reenter a hidden passage that led into her room. Brown eyes met golden, staring in disbelief. Luz currently had one leg through the entrance, her eyes wide and shocked at the princess before her.

She could say she had found an exit, though as soon as her eyes had landed on the portrait of the scowling princess above the fireplace, knew that it wasn’t the right one. The room remained silent as the two women stared at each other. However, the tension was broken as Amity’s brain finally registered that there was in fact an intruder in the castle. Quickly, she raised her hand to summon an abomination, but yelped as the human quickly dashed towards her after realizing what she was trying to do. Amity had tried to step back, the circle nearly complete, but was stopped as her wrist was grabbed.

The intruder stared her down, eyes hard and narrowed. Meanwhile, Luz was currently freaking out on the inside. She hadn’t processed what was happening until she was across the room and grabbing at the girls wrist to prevent her from completing whatever spell she was trying to cast. Her mind began to reel through different scenarios and how to approach the current situation. Her mind finally stopped on a memory of her mother watching an old movie. A wanted criminal having grabbed a random girl, threatening that she be quiet unless something bad were to happen.

She winced. The last thing she wanted to do was scare an innocent girl into submission, but at the same time keeping her head sounded nice as well. Thus, she narrowed her eyes, glaring into the princesses' surprised ones. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” The words slipped past her lips before she could truly think them through. Even though the words made Luz cringe, she continued to harshly stare at the princesses face. She waited for a moment. Waited for the girl to sob, to cry out for help, to try and push her away. No, she was certainly not expecting the girls features to shift from shock to irritated. Her golden eyes narrowed, the glare causing the afro-latina girl to shudder.

Jeez, she and Eda really needed to have a glaring contest to see who was the most scary. No, she was wrong, her mamí was still the scariest person she knew when angered. But this chick definitely came in as a close second. She watched as the girl sneered, her lips pulled back to reveal her sharp canines that Luz frequently forgot witches had. The girl nervously swallowed, Amity quickly taking note of the girl's regret. However, before the taller woman could say anything, she was sharply pulled forward, watching with wide eyes as the princess pulled her free arm back and made painful contact with Luz’s jaw.

Luz’s grip softed as she fell, her head quickly turning due to the impact and her vision going dark before she even made contact with the ground. Meanwhile, the princess stared at her from above, her arms crossed.

She needed Willow’s help.

  
___

Golden eyes glared over a pair of cards directed towards the other woman. A smug smirk was pulled against her lips as her green eyes gazed down at the cards the princess had dealt her. “I’m waiting.” Willow hummed, clearly amused with the princesses’ competitive spirit. Amity bit her bottom lip in irritation, wincing however when her fang dug just a little too deep. Once again the princess began to scan her cards. There was nothing worth putting down and by the smug look on Willow's face she most likely had a wild card. “Don’t rush me, I just want to find a good card to play!” Amity declared as she glared even harder at the cards in her hand. Willow chuckled lowly as she stared across the small table over at her friend.

The small gazebo they resided under kept the continuous snow off of them, though they weren’t protected by the blistering cold winds that were blown across the land. Shuddering, Willow tightened her brown coat around her. When Amity had told her that she wanted to hang out earlier in the day, Willow had suspected she meant in her room where it was warm. However a small shift in plans left the gardener unexpectedly being shoved into her best friend’s room, with said princess, pointing to a body on the floor, “Help me get rid of it.” She hissed.

Willow had stared for a moment, perplexed on what to do. “When you say get rid of it. Do you mean, dispose of the body entirely? Because I certainly could. Or, do you perhaps mean to move it from its current location to another?” Willow asked once she had processed that there was actually a knocked out body in the middle of her friends room. Amity however, was making her way over to her desk, clearly unfazed with her friend’s questions. She opened a drawer off to the side, grabbing a healing patch and placing it on her bruised hand. She’d rather have it heal over night than have a nasty bruise in the morning. She really didn’t feel like being questioned by Lilith more than she was already going to be.

“I want to know why they were in here, damnit! Titan! How they even got into the castle in the first place?! So, we’re going to move her outside the castle walls and I was thinking we could take her to the royal hunting grounds for questioning.” Amity explained with frustration as she turned back towards her friend. Willow thought it over. The hunting grounds were located outside the castle walls, a little ways into the forest. Usually, the Blights held a large hunting event in honor of the upcoming spring. The men would spend the day going out farther into the forest, hunting for any poor creature that tried to experience the new life that had begun to grow.

Women would sit with the Queen and her ladies-in-waiting under a large gazebo, the very same one that Willow and Amity currently resided under, while the royal children mingled with the nobles' children. Usually, a few picnic blankets would be placed around a small stream near the area, along with desserts and small finger foods. It was a terrible time for Amity, being hounded down by young noble women trying to impress her in hopes of one day being sought after as a future lady-in-waiting. However, the twins found much delight in the time. Using the short lived freedom to pull pranks and mess with the hearts of young nobles who pined after them.

The two women had worked quickly, Willow rushing to grab her coat and some rope from the gardening shed, while Amity watched over the sleeping human, ready to knock her out again in case she woke up. They had easily slipped out of the castle and its walls by using the secret entrance that their mystery girl had fatefully entered from, and made their way through the hidden tunnels. They were cautious as they slipped out of the walls, listening for any movement from up above. Once the coast was clear, they darted away, rushing through the snow towards the woods. They had tied the young human girl to a large wooden stake, logs placed at her feet as if she were to be set on fire. As much as the Willow doubted they would be barbequing the strange girl by the end of the night, it was a rather effective way of intimidation.

Willow glanced away from the princess, staring off to the side at the tied up girl. Snow had begun to collect on her shoulders and head, no doubt freezing her. Her head was drooped, and it wouldn’t surprise the plant witch if the girl had a concussion. Curiously, Willow opened her palm, summoning a pinecone. Amity’s gaze drifted towards the witch, watching with a raised brow. “What are you doing?” She asked. However, her friend ignored her as she cocked back her arm, throwing the pinecone at the tied up human. They watched as the pinecone bounced off the humans head, landing into the pile of logs.

“Willow!” Amity hissed meanwhile her friend snickered as the human only groaned. The plant witch turned to look at the irritated princess. Her cheeks were red, though Willow couldn’t tell if it was due to the cold or the irritation of her friend realizing that she was going to lose their game of cards for the eighth time in a row. “What? I was just making sure she was alive.” Willow chuckled before turning her attention back towards her cards. They once again fell into a comfortable silence until another low groan escaped the human. “Did you throw another damn pinecone at her!?” Amity growled, confused on how she had missed her friend’s actions.

Golden and green eyes quickly shifted to the dazed human who appeared to be waking up. “As amusing as it was the first time, no.” Willow grumbled, her eyes narrowing behind her thick glasses. Luz steadily opened her eyes, her vision blurry. There was a terrible pounding in her head, and her chin throbbed in pain. Her body felt heavy and it didn’t help that she couldn’t move. All she could really remember was stumbling into one of the Blight’s rooms, and getting punched in the jaw by a short girl with green hair that honestly reminded her of a gremlin or maybe even one of those old school troll dolls with the wild hair.

Maybe it had all been a dream? Maybe Eda was still upset with her and walked into her room and beat her in the head with Owlbert as she slept. She’d never done it before but it wouldn’t surprise her if the older woman had finally snapped. Luz groaned as she tried to lift her head, her vision steadily becoming more clear and focused. Snow was castscading around her and steadily she became more aware of her surroundings. The dark purple tree’s with the odd eye like engravings surrounded her, now covered with a thick blanket of snow. Snow. It was snowing. Luz shivered as she began to realize how cold she was.

The area was clear, all except for a gazebo across from her. Last time she checked, there was no gazebo near the owl house. Her brown eyes honed in on the pair of young women hidden under the gazebo. She narrowed her eyes. Were they playing cards in the middle of this hellish weather? Her eyes first shifted to the woman with short messy dark green hair in a brown coat. She didn’t look extremely built, but she definitely had muscles and a smug smirk on her face. Tiredly, they shifted to the next girl. Messy green hair and piercing golden eyes. Luz blinked.

“Oh shit, the gremlin!” Luz groaned, her own voice causing her head to ache further. Amity’s eye twitched meanwhile Willow bit her bottom lip and turned her head away, hiding her smile from Amity. Amity shot Willow a look of displeasure, “It’s not funny.” She hissed. Once again, she turned her attention back to the human girl who was still clearly dazed. “I am not a ‘gremlin’, I am Amity Blight princ-” Amity had begun introducing herself, but was cut off. “You punched me! You fucked up my face!” Luz growled as she tried to ignore the throbbing of her head. She tried her best to glare at the princess before her, but forcing her focus on her did nothing to help the pain in her head. “Well you fucked up my hand!” The temperamental princess barked, clearly irritated that she was disrupted.

Willow straightened her posture, watching with a large smile as the two began to bicker. “I’ll have you know that this stunning face helps bring in business for my mentor’s store!” Luz declared, wincing as she felt her jaw throb as she talked. The princess rolled her eyes, “Well business must be slow then!” She snapped. Willow snorted, her laughter causing her shoulders to shake. The two ignored the other woman, off in their own little world of bitterness and clear distaste for one another.

“You could have broken my jaw!” Luz hollered, “Well you broke into my room!” Amity shot back, “What were you even doing in my room!? Titan! How, did you even end up in the castle!” She asked. Luz blinked. That’s right. She broke back into the castle to try and steal the relic. Shit, she forgot about Owlbert! She eyed the princess who continued to glare at her. She couldn’t tell her that she used a secret passage, no, that would most likely start a search throughout the kingdom for the culprit who had made it. It wouldn’t just put Eda in danger, but most likely innocent civilians as well. If the queen was as crazy as Eda claimed, there was no doubt that anyone that appeared guilty in her eyes would face the consequences until she found the actual culprit.

The two women under the gazebo watched as the human girl across from them chose her words carefully. “I snuck in.” Luz stated smartly, a small smirk tugging at her lips. Amity wanted to run her fingers through her green hair and pull it out from its brown roots in frustration. “But how?!” She growled, not up for playing games. Instead, she balled up her fists in irritation, having placed her cards down when the human woke up. Luz hummed lowly, “Magic.” Was all she said, her eyes shifting away. She tried so hard not to laugh as the answer seemed to only irritate the princess more, her cheeks becoming a rather dark shade of pink.

“Humans can’t do magic.” Amity growled through clenched teeth. Luz winced, the action having not gone unnoticed by Willow who raised a curious brow. “Did you pay someone to let you in? Who was it and how much!?” Amity demanded, but was only greeted by silence. Her face began to burn red in anger. It wasn’t till a callused hand gently placed itself over her closed fist that she remembered to breathe. Her fiery golden eyes coursing with anger, shifted to soft green eyes full of concern. Willow had leaned across the table, trying her best to calm her friend down. Amity took a few deep breaths, trying her best to calm her nerves.

She wouldn’t let the human get to her. She was above that.

“If I told you either way, would you really believe me?” Luz asked, causing both the two women to snap their gaze back at her. She was right, no matter what she said there was no proof that Amity would actually believe her. The princess watched the afro-latina. “I doubt it, but I want to know every possible way you could have gotten in, that way I can make sure it doesn’t happen again.” The princess hissed, which once again earned her a gentle squeeze of the hand from Willow.

Luz’s mind began to reel for an explanation. She could lie and say she was looking for a mage to be the apprentice of. But as Amity stated, human’s couldn’t do magic as far as she knew. A new servant? No, the irritated princess would most likely ask where she was stationed and it didn’t provide a good explanation for why she was in her room. An idea clicked into her head. Luz gave a dramatic sigh, “I was looking for someone to speak to about being a guard for the royal family. You know like the ones that walk along the wall?” She lied. Both Amity and Willow stared at the human girl in a matched expression of disbelief. They glanced at her serious face before glancing down at her thin arms.

“You’re right, I don’t believe you.” Amity stated matter factly. Luz’s expression quickly shifted to one of irritation, “Why not?!” She asked, her temper flaring. Amity felt her own annoyance return, “Because you look so frail and weak! Just look at your arms!” She snapped back. Once again the two began snapping at each other, comments and threats being thrown back and forth. Willow watched with amusement as the two looked ready to rip each other apart. She was sure that if the human was untied, both she and the princess would be fighting in the snow. However, she also began to realize that that more the human pissed off her best friend, there may actually be a chance that the human would end up shish kebab by the time the night was over.

With a sigh, Willow felt it would be best to step between the two before the short-fused princess made any brash decisions. “So, you want to be a knight?!” Willow spoke loud enough to interrupt the bickering women. They both stopped, staring at the woman with confused expressions. Willow raised a brow at the clearly confused human. “You said you wanted to be a guard, however they are dispatched to the royal family by the Emperor. Thus, that must mean you want to be a knight?” Willow asked. Luz blinked, processing the woman's question. “Um, yes?” She managed to reply. Amity sucked her teeth, “You’re such a fucking liar.” She hissed, earning a glare from the human.

“I mean, it doesn’t sound too far fetched,” Willow insisted, turning to glance at her friend who only stared at her in disbelief. “Your family have men and women from both noble and lower classes crawling to the castle steps begging to be a knight. Does it really sound that odd that a human would want to be one?” She asked. The princess blinked, wondering if she had really heard her friend correctly, “Yes.” Was her only response, earning a roll of green eyes. Amity huffed, “It may not seem far fetched, but usually my parents turn them away when they have nothing valuable to offer.” She hissed. Willow hummed lowly. “You don’t think having the only human on the Boiling Isles as a member of the Blight families hand picked knights wouldn’t be valuable? You know your family enjoys having bragging rights, right?” Willow asked with amusement laced in her voice.

Amity scowled and crossed her arms, seeing no lie in her friend's words. Willow smirked. “Excuse us for a moment as we talk privately.” Willow requested, glancing over at the tied up human. “Oh, don’t mind me, I’ll just wait here.” Luz responded with clear sarcasm. Willow turned around and pulled Amity towards her, draping an arm across her shoulders to keep her close as she whispered. “This could work.” Willow insisted, earning her a confused look from the princess. “What could work?” She asked with a raised brow. “You need a knight elect, and the human already doesn’t like you. If you keep her around she’ll avoid you like the plague, and your parents would no longer bother you about it. You’ll basically be free again, at least for a short amount of time before you drive the human away with your attitude.” The plant witch explained.

The last comment earned her a rather sharp glare, but once again, the princess saw no fault in her friend's words. “But, she’s clearly lying.” Amity claimed incredulously. Willow glanced at the human once more before shifting her green eyes back to her friend, “Oh, she one hundred percent is, but still, as you said, humans can’t do magic. Plus, with those noodle arms I doubt she could really do any damage. And wouldn’t you like to find out what she was really doing inside the castle?” Willow asked.

Curiously, Willow watched as her friends brows furrowed as she thought it over. “But, it’s so stupid.” She whined. The plant witch raised a brow, “The plan?” She asked, “No, the human.” Amity grumbled at the very idea of having to be around the human. Willow rolled her eyes. “Listen, do you want a human knight elect that will leave you alone and will most likely quit within possibly two weeks? Or do you want another nobleman hounding you down for a higher status, a new one popping up each week?” Her friend hissed.

Amity groaned at the very idea of another nobleman’s son offering to be her knight elect just so they could kiss up to her parents in hopes of gaining the official title as Knight. Well, jokes on them, her parents don’t get to make that decision. With a sigh the two women turned back towards the bored looking human. The princess sharply inhaled the cold air, burning her nose slightly due to the chill before speaking. “Alright human, you want to be a knight elect, then I will give you the chance. And while you are clearly too weak and my parents would find you laughable possibly even spitting insults at you, maybe call you a degenerate, talk abo-”

“Amity!” Willow impatiently cut her off, causing the princess to snap her eyes back to her friend innocently. The youngest Blight groaned. “But! I’ll,” She took another sharp breath before releasing a shaky one, “I’ll help you.” She claimed. The humans eyes widened in surprise. Just what had the two witches talked about? Who cared! She would be able to get into the castle and get the relic for Eda! “However!” Amity broke her train of thought, a low ‘Dammit!’ Echoing throughout her head. “You will need to be trained. That’s why I’m assigning Willow to help you.” Amity stated quite proudly.

Willow blinked before shooting her attention towards Amity. “Hey now, I don’t remember agreeing to that.” She stated, surprised by the princesses declaration. The princess hummed lowly, “Oh you’ll do fine, she shouldn’t be that hard to teach.” She insisted nonchalantly. However, the plant witch still seemed hesitant. “I don’t know. I still have a lot of work to do. What would I say or even find the time to do such a thing?” She asked. Amity began to think, processing her friend's concerns. “I think that there’s a few rare plants that you need to take care of around here. You have your own personal garden outside the walls, don’t you?” Amity asked.

She didn’t think it was possible, but the plant witch seemed even more concerned. “You do know about Audrey?” She asked, clearly confused on how her friend knew about her secret project in her secret garden. Amity blinked, “Who the hell is Audrey?” She asked. Willow blinked. “Audrey? It’s nothing. Just the name of my garden is all. I can tell the head gardener what I need to do and I’m sure they’ll let me off earlier in the evening.” Willow rambled, wanting to change the subject before her best friend pressed any further. Both the human and the princess exchanged a look other than hatred, no, they gave each other a confused glance before peering back at the gardener.

Amity shifted her eyes away slowly, making a mental note to ask her friend about her odd choice in garden names later. “Okay then? Well, if we have that settled, then we can head back to the castle?” The princess asked, with confusion still laced in her voice from her friend's previous question. Willow quickly stood, causing both the princess and Luz to stare at her in surprise. “Exactly! Back to the castle we go! Away from this conversation!” Willow insisted, helping her friend up and leading her down the gazebo stairs.

However, the low cough of the human still tied up brought their attention towards her. Luz tried her best to shift from her uncomfortable restraints. “Uh, quick question? What are you going to exactly do with me?” She asked. For the first time, the human girl watched the princesses' usually scowling face pull itself into a rather unsettling smile.

“Oh, I have just the place for you.” She insisted.


End file.
